Latest news with #FannyYeung
South China Morning Post
17-06-2025
- South China Morning Post
14 Hongkongers in Israel, Iran and Jordan contact authorities amid conflict
Authorities have received inquiries from 14 Hongkongers in three Middle Eastern countries caught up in the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict, while a travel sector representative has said there were no tour groups from the city in those areas. The Immigration Department said it had received the inquiries from the Hongkongers in Israel, Iran and Jordan as of Monday 5pm. Two of them had already left. Since late last week, Israel and Iran have launched multiple attacks against each other in various cities, including their respective capitals Tel Aviv and Tehran. The airspace in neighbouring Jordan, which was closed down twice amid the conflict, was reopened on Sunday, but the situation remained chaotic. Fanny Yeung Shuk-fun, executive director of the Travel Industry Council, told the Post on Tuesday the group did not have information of any Hong Kong tours currently in the three countries, and it had not received any request for help so far. Israeli soldiers search through the rubble of residential buildings destroyed by an Iranian missile strike in Bat Yam, central Israel, on Sunday. Photo: AP She added no tour groups from the city had to her knowledge visited those areas for a long time.
South China Morning Post
07-05-2025
- South China Morning Post
Two-thirds of tour groups stayed overnight in Hong Kong during ‘golden week'
Nearly two-thirds of visitors in tour groups who visited Hong Kong over the Labour Day 'golden week' holiday opted for overnight stays, according to industry leaders, who have called for better crowd control measures and guides to be trained to meet the growing demand for more in-depth travel experiences. Advertisement Fanny Yeung Shuk-fun, executive director of Travel Industry Council, said on Wednesday that the city welcomed about 920,000 mainland tourists during the five-day break which began on May 1, with more than 900 tour groups bringing in close to 33,000 visitors. Among those that came on the tour groups, two-thirds stayed overnight, with most staying for just one night, Yeung told a radio programme. The remaining one-third opted for day trips. 'This was a very pleasant surprise because our estimated figures were quite a bit lower than the actual outcome,' she said. Yeung attributed the rise to several factors, including the fact that the Labour Day break was the first golden week since the new Kai Tak Sports Park was completed, and also since the city's panda cubs went on display to the public. Advertisement She also noted that the last day of the holiday coincided with the Buddha's Birthday, which allowed visitors to witness the Cheung Chau Bun Festival. 'I think there's also the fact that the weather was very good during the golden week this year, so I think we were quite lucky,' she said.
RTHK
07-05-2025
- Business
- RTHK
Golden Week tourism jump put down to new attractions
Golden Week tourism jump put down to new attractions About 920,000 mainland visitors came to Hong Kong during the Labour Day Golden Week holiday. File photo: RTHK A tourism-sector representative said on Wednesday new attractions in the SAR have contributed to the better-than-expected tourist arrival figures from the mainland over the Labour Day Golden Week. During the five-day holiday, about 920,000 mainlanders set foot in Hong Kong, exceeding the Travel Industry Council's (TIC) estimate of 800,000. TIC executive director Fanny Yeung told an RTHK radio programme that the number is equivalent to more than 90 percent of pre-Covid levels. "This year's Golden Week holiday was the first since Kai Tak Sports Park opened and the first since the city's panda cubs were available to welcome visitors," she said. "The weather was also really nice during the holiday period, so we were very lucky. "If the weather during that time was like it is today, I believe this would have had an impact on visitor numbers. "Also, the final day of the holiday was on Buddha's Birthday, which was the day that Cheung Chau's Bun Festival was held so that also made this Golden Week holiday more appealing." Yeung also attributed the higher arrival figures to "tourism everywhere" promotional efforts. With more visitors choosing to go hiking, she said, the government may consider setting up a quota system to limit the number of visitors in popular hiking destinations, such as the High Island Reservoir East Dam in Sai Kung to avoid overcrowding. A government working group on festival arrangements led by Chief Secretary Eric Chan found that nearly 33,000 of the mainland tourists over the holiday period came as part of more than 900 tour groups, with about 70 percent of them staying overnight. The Tourism Board has said it expects the SAR to see 49 million visitor arrivals this year. Lam Chi-ting from the Hong Kong Tourism Industry Employees' General Union believes that it won't be difficult to achieve the goal. But he told the same programme that it would be difficult to have tour group numbers fully return to pre-Covid level as they only stand at 70 percent now.
